Passenger-Ready 787 Dreamliner Is Ready to Board

EVERETT, Washington — After billions of dollars and years of delays, Boeing pushed the first passenger-carrying 787 Dreamliner out of the paint shop and opened the doors for a sneak peek inside.

The freshly painted 264-seat airliner rolled out on Saturday for launch customer All Nippon Airways, and company execs were on hand to get a first-hand look at the latest addition to their fleet. During a press conference at Boeing's delivery center, just a short walk from where the 787 Dreamliner aircraft are assembled, ANA senior vice president Mitsuo Morimoto said, "We plan to use the 787 to expand our business, particularly our international routes."

The 787 is expected to finish certification testing during the next several weeks. Boeing says the airplane pictured above will be delivered before the end of September.

The first passenger flight for the 787 Dreamliner will be a chartered hop from Tokyo's Narita airport to Hong Kong. Then it begins scheduled flights between Tokyo's Haneda airport and either Okayama or Hiroshima. Although the 787 has a range of as much as 8,200 nautical miles and a cruise speed of Mach 0.85, All Nippon will be doing regional flights to start.

We took a walk through the composite airplane, which features several noticeable differences compared to a typical airliner. From the pilot's seat to the passenger's seat to the toilet seat, the Dreamliner features a range of things aimed at making flying a little more enjoyable.

Photos: Jason Paur/Wired.com

The Boeing 787 cockpit is dominated by the four glass panel displays and large windows. Glass panel displays are nothing new, of course, and similarities between the cockpits of the Boeing 777 and 787 reduces the training time needed to transition pilots to the new airplane.

So far ANA has 18 pilots trained to fly the Dreamliner. Standing inside ANA's first 787, Morimoto said the number will more than double by the time the airline takes delivery in September.

"Currently we're planning 42 pilots all trained and certified for the Boeing 787 before the delivery," he said.

ANA has 55 Dreamliners on order. Morimoto says pilot training will continue as planes are delivered.

"Typically every time we receive one aircraft, we'll need approximately eight pilots for domestic routes and 10 for international," he said.

Like all Boeing airliners, the Dreamliner will be flown via a control yoke and rudder pedals. Airbus switched to a small side stick control many years ago; many pilots like it because it opens up some space in front of them. But Boeing opted to continue with its traditional yoke to aid in the transition for pilots coming from other Boeing aircraft.

The 787 is the first Boeing airliner to offer total fly-by-wire controls, where there is no mechanical linkage between the pilot and the flight control surfaces on the wings and tail. Fly-by-wire has been under scrutiny since the crash of Air France Flight 447 over the Atlantic. In that flight, initial investigations show the pilots were confused because of the feedback they were receiving from the fly-by-wire system after ice caused several instruments to fail.

Yoshio Taneda is an All Nippon Airways pilot who recently completed 787 training. Of the 1,500 or so pilots flying for the airline, more than 700 will be checked out in the 787, he said. He says the systems involved are different than those in the 767 he's been flying, but he says the two planes fly almost the same.

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"The feeling is similar," Taneda said. "There's no special technique for this one."

Taneda says Boeing 777 pilots need the least transition training, while 767 pilots need a little bit more. Most of the training is on the different systems on the new airplane.

The first passenger-carrying 787 is set up for domestic Japanese routes. It features 252 economy-class seats and 12 business-class seats.

Overhead room in the aisles is noticeably better than in other aircraft and the overhead bins are larger. The seats recline by sliding the seat bottom forward, rather than tilting the seat back. While there doesn't appear to be any significant difference in the resulting legroom, it does allow passengers to crush their own knees rather than cede that to the person sitting in front of them.

The color of the lights in the cabin can also be changed to reflect the phase of the flight or to imitate the light at the destination.

In-flight entertainment is delivered via a sea of seatback screens and controllers. You can also see the small cup holders that flip down, allowing you to put down your complimentary beverage without unfolding the entire tray table.

One of the coolest things passengers will notice are the windows. The composite airframe allowed Boeing to install larger windows, and the Dreamliner's are more than 10 inches wide and more than 18 inches tall. That's the largest of any airliner.

When it's time to sleep or watch a movie, there are no shades to draw. It's all done electronically. Each window has a five-position switch to control the level of dimming.

At left is a window with the top light illuminated indicating normal mode. Press the button twice and you have the middle setting, which allows enough light to easily see outside. Press the button twice more and you're at the darkest setting (seen at right). You can stil see through the window, but barely.

You must be patient, however. Push the button five times to go from clear to dark and it will take about 90 seconds to complete the transition.

The cabin crew can control the window settings as well. Instead of walking through cabin reminding passengers to close their shades when everyone is trying to sleep, the crew can limit how much light enters the cabin by choosing a default setting.

Of the several lavatories aboard, one is a little larger than the others to provide room for a changing table. There's even a dimmable window, though it also includes a traditional window shade for total privacy. All Nippon Airways aircraft feature integrated bidets.

The bidet, like the windows, features variable settings controlled by the passenger using it.

The ANA 787 features Trent 1000 engines from Rolls Royce. In addition to being efficient, the high bypass jet engines are much quieter than other jet engines. Boeing says the 787 will use 20 percent less fuel than comparable airliners.

Boeing squeezed further efficiency by improving the aerodynamics. The raked wingtips of the 787 offer reduced drag over traditional wings, even those with fuel-saving winglets.

Large scoops on the fuselage just before the wing take in fresh air for the cabin and environmental control systems. The extended ramp in front of the lower intake can limit the amount of air taken in by the scoop while protecting it from ingesting debris on the ground.

Metal still dominates the landing gear on the mostly composite 787. Fresh out of the paint shop, there's not a speck of dirt or grease to be found.

The fly-by-wire controls feature an active 'gust alleviation' system. During flight through turbulent air, control surfaces on the wings and tail are instructed by the computer to move in very small increments. The result of these small control surface movements is to counter small bumps that are typically felt during the flight and offer a smoother ride for the passenger.

Despite being a few years behind schedule, Boeing still has more than 800 orders for the 787 Dreamliner, though it has lost more than 80 orders since the peak in 2008.

The ANA flights in Japan are expected to start early this fall, but U.S. passengers will have to wait until next year when United is expected to begin flights with the 787 between Houston and Auckland, New Zealand.